Anheuser-Busch choosing to quit Stewart-Haas Racing following the departure of Kevin Harvick officially marked the end of an era in NASCAR. With the brand now set to feature on the ride of Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, the 31-year-old driver is well aware of the weight on his shoulders. However, he has emphasized that fans will not be able to help feeling different watching the iconic colors on a driver different than Harvick.
Advertisement
Chastain’s words came on USA Today’s podcast: “They’re [Fans] gonna see a bit of a different flavor to it. I am not Kevin Harvick and I am not trying to step into his shoes. Kevin was one of a kind and now the Busch army gets Ross Chastain.” Continuing, he reiterated that fans will not be bored watching him race.
Busch Light has poured massive amounts of money and confidence into NASCAR over the last four decades through various programs. It spent the last 8 seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing and will next be seen on the #1 Ford Mustang at the Daytona 500. For Chastain, who has had 170 starts in the Cup Series, driving a Busch-sponsored car is nothing but a dream come true.
Linking his watermelon past to his new sponsor, he said last year, “On the farm in Alva, Florida, Busch Light has always been the beer of choice for all of our celebrations, and now that they are right by my side as a sponsor – it’s a dream come true.”
Ross Chastain on whether he is the next in line to the Dale Earnhardt-Kevin Harvick legacy
When Dale Earnhardt passed away in 2001, Kevin Harvick took over the #3 car as a green youngster in the Cup Series. Two decades later, he retired a legend who lived up to being a worthy successor for Earnhardt. Now the same torch gets handed to Ross Chastain. Can he hold his own in this new role?
He said to USA Today, “The plan is we just go about our business. But I have studied guys like Kevin and the drivers that came before me because I wasn’t raised in the sport. I just had to learn it as I went. It’s not lost on me, the platform that I have, and the legacy that Kevin built in Busch Light.”
Ross Chastain’s Busch Light paint scheme will debut at the Clash. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/OFNHC3SUxK
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) January 22, 2024
Chastain already has an image as the working man’s friend, courtesy of his farming past. With that image lying parallel to what Dale Earnhardt enjoyed, the #1 driver can sculpt a career that lies parallel to Earnhardt’s and Harvick’s.
